Minna no Nihongo - Unit 11 Overview

Minna no Nihongo - Unit 11 Overview

Unit 11 introduces counting, specifically focusing on expressing quantity and numbers, including how to count people, things, and animals. This unit also covers how to describe quantities using counters and how to ask about and express amounts.

1. Vocabulary (たんご)

This unit introduces key vocabulary for counting and asking about quantities:

• ひとつ (hitotsu) – one (used for counting things)
• ふたつ (futatsu) – two
• みっつ (mittsu) – three
• よっつ (yottsu) – four
• いつつ (itsutsu) – five
• むっつ (muttsu) – six
• ななつ (nanatsu) – seven
• やっつ (yattsu) – eight
• ここのつ (kokonotsu) – nine
• とお (tō) – ten
• いくつ (ikutsu) – how many (used for counting general objects)
• ひとり (hitori) – one person
• ふたり (futari) – two people
• 〜にん (〜nin) – [number] people (e.g., さんにん – 3 people)
• 〜だい (〜dai) – counter for machines, cars, etc.
• 〜まい (〜mai) – counter for flat things (paper, stamps, etc.)
• 〜かい (〜kai) – counter for occurrences, times
• カレー (karē) – curry
• アイスクリーム (aisukurīmu) – ice cream
• きって (kitte) – stamp
• はがき (hagaki) – postcard
• ふうとう (fūtō) – envelope
• そくたつ (sokutatsu) – express delivery
• こうくうびん (kōkūbin) – airmail
• ふなびん (funabin) – sea mail
• りょうしん (ryōshin) – parents
• きょうだい (kyōdai) – siblings
• あに (ani) – (my) older brother
• おにいさん (oniisan) – (someone else's) older brother
• あね (ane) – (my) older sister
• おねえさん (oneesan) – (someone else's) older sister
• おとうと (otōto) – (my) younger brother
• おとうとさん (otōtosan) – (someone else's) younger brother
• いもうと (imōto) – (my) younger sister
• いもうとさん (imōtosan) – (someone else's) younger sister
• がいこく (gaikoku) – foreign country

2. Grammar Points (ぶんぽう)

A. Asking About Quantity with いくつ

1. To ask how many of something there are, use いくつ.

   Structure:

   • [Object] は いくつ ありますか。

   Example:

   • みかんは いくつ ありますか。 (Mikan wa ikutsu arimasu ka?) – How many oranges are there?

B. Counting General Objects

For general objects, Japanese uses unique words for numbers 1 to 10:

• ひとつ (hitotsu) – one
• ふたつ (futatsu) – two
• みっつ (mittsu) – three
• よっつ (yottsu) – four
• いつつ (itsutsu) – five
• むっつ (muttsu) – six
• ななつ (nanatsu) – seven
• やっつ (yattsu) – eight
• ここのつ (kokonotsu) – nine
• とお (tō) – ten

Example:

• りんごを みっつ ください。 (Ringo o mittsu kudasai.) – Please give me three apples.

C. Counting People with 〜にん

For counting people, use 〜にん after the number (except for 1 person and 2 people, which are unique):

• ひとり (hitori) – one person
• ふたり (futari) – two people
• さんにん (san-nin) – three people
• よにん (yo-nin) – four people
• ごにん (go-nin) – five people

Example:

• がっこうに せいとが よにん います。 (Gakkō ni seito ga yo-nin imasu.) – There are four students at the school.

D. Counters for Machines, Flat Objects, and Occurrences

1. 〜だい (dai) is used to count machines, vehicles, and large equipment.

   Example:

   • くるまが 2だい あります。 (Kuruma ga ni-dai arimasu.) – There are two cars.

2. 〜まい (mai) is used to count flat objects like paper, tickets, and clothes.

   Example:

   • きってを 3まい ください。 (Kitte o san-mai kudasai.) – Please give me three stamps.

3. 〜かい (kai) is used to count occurrences or times something happens.

   Example:

   • しゅうに 2かい スポーツを します。 (Shū ni ni-kai supōtsu o shimasu.) – I do sports twice a week.

E. Using Counters in Requests

When requesting or stating quantities of things, you can use the counters learned to specify how many items you want or how many exist.

1. [Item] を [Counter] ください。

   Example:

   • アイスクリームを ふたつ ください。 (Aisukurīmu o futatsu kudasai.) – Please give me two ice creams.

2. [Item] が [Counter] あります。

   Example:

   • みかんが ひとつ あります。 (Mikan ga hitotsu arimasu.) – There is one orange.

3. Example Sentences

1. りんごを ふたつ ください。 (Ringo o futatsu kudasai.) – Please give me two apples.
2. きょうだいは ふたり います。 (Kyōdai wa futari imasu.) – I have two siblings.
3. くるまが 3だい あります。 (Kuruma ga san-dai arimasu.) – There are three cars.
4. かみを 5まい ください。 (Kami o go-mai kudasai.) – Please give me five sheets of paper.

4. Practice Sentences

• みかんが 3つ あります。 (Mikan ga mittsu arimasu.) – There are three oranges.
• わたしの いえには くるまが 2だい あります。 (Watashi no ie ni wa kuruma ga ni-dai arimasu.) – My house has two cars.
• おとこのひとが 4にん います。 (Otoko no hito ga yo-nin imasu.) – There are four men.
• きってを 10まい ください。 (Kitte o jū-mai kudasai.) – Please give me ten stamps.

5. Summary

In Unit 11, you learn how to count various objects, people, and occurrences using the appropriate counters. These include the general counting system (ひとつ, ふたつ, etc.), the specific counters for people (〜にん), machines (〜だい), flat objects (〜まい), and occurrences (〜かい). You also practice asking and responding to questions about quantities.